The Taper Lane

[ande]

This is the lane we all crave.
The work is done, the big meet's approaching.
Lot's more hanging out. You can get in late & out early.
Don't need to do much but what you do needs to be really great.
Mostly easy swimming. Some very fast swimming.
Broken races. 25's 50's 75's
Race rehearsals
Race pace
LOTS of rest.
you're gonna start feeling like super man or woman
Don't do stupid stuff.
Don't trust your taper, test your taper.
Do championship performance prep like Rich Abrahams
Big musclely sprint types tend to need more weeks than the skinny distancy divas

there's always lots to talk about in the taper lane




[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16584"]the breastroke lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16601"]The Middle Distance Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16587"]The Backstroke Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16588"]The Butterfly Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16618"]The SDK Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16591"]The Taper Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16586"]The Distance Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16589"]The IM Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16585"]The Sprint Free Lane[/ame]


[ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16619"]The Pool Deck[/ame]

[That Guy]

skinny distancy divas

there's always lots to talk about in the taper lane

is any of it true?

[Allen Stark]

I typically have a 3 week taper and the 2nd week is always lousy.I have cut down my work and I should have more energy,but my legs feel like lead , my workouts are poor and I feel more tired after an easy workout than after a hard one in mid-season.I don't know the physiology of this but it happens every time.Also I spend most of the taper worrying about getting sick.

[swimmj]

I typically have a 3 week taper and the 2nd week is always lousy.I have cut down my work and I should have more energy,but my legs feel like lead , my workouts are poor and I feel more tired after an easy workout than after a hard one in mid-season.I don't know the physiology of this but it happens every time.Also I spend most of the taper worrying about getting sick.

I always have a period of feeling awful, doubting everything, worrying about getting sick, about hurting myself (pulling muscle, etc.), and generally being a basket case. I'm much happier during regular training times but if you hit your taper right, you feel like a super hero, capable of anything.

[ElaineK]

OK, taper experts, I can use some advice...

When should I quit weights to taper for Nationals? From what I have read, it looks like two weeks prior. Do you agree?

How about other dryland exercises and aerobic workouts (treadmill, etc.)? When I joined Masters in February, I was swimming every other day and hitting the gym on alternate days for 50 min. aerobic, followed by weights. The past two weeks I cut back on the gym and increased swimming to 5 days/wk. (I workout 7 days/wk, however, I one of those days is always lighter.)

Any advice on the dryland schedule? By the way, one thing I do EVERY day is stretch. I highly recommend the stretches written up in the Jan-Feb. 2010 issue of Swimmer Mag. I found the article in the back issues on the website and was happy I did! They have been great for improving my streamline in breaststroke and turns.

Thanks for your help!

[SolarEnergy]

Also I spend most of the taper worrying about getting sick.

+1. In fact, everything becomes more worrisome. Getting hydrated, making sure you feed well, sleep well. don't get sick, don't get sick etc.

[ElaineK]

+1. In fact, everything becomes more worrisome. Getting hydrated, making sure you feed well, sleep well. don't get sick, don't get sick etc.

Getting hydrated and making sure I eat well is the eay part. The HARD part is "sleep well". I make sure I'm in bed to get enough sleep and I even fall asleep fast enough. But, STAYING asleep is another issue. Then, once I wake up, getting BACK to sleep. Uggggghhhh! Mostly, it's not even a mental thing; it's physical/ medical issues that get in the way of good .

[Couroboros]

Is it ironic that it's fast becoming good advice to avoid this thread when one tapers?

[__steve__]

I plan to take an extra day off prior, and sleeping 3-4 extra hours just in case I have trouble sleeping the night prior

[Calvin S]

When should I quit weights to taper for Nationals?

i think a lot depends on age, type of lifting being done, and how much you are regularly lifting.

i normally drop weights the week of a big meet, but as far as 3-4 weeks out, i start to switch to lighter weights with fast reps (think explosiveness). i do a lot of box jumps and other exercises that work those fast twitch muscles.

[swimmj]

OK, taper experts, I can use some advice...

When should I quit weights to taper for Nationals? From what I have read, it looks like two weeks prior. Do you agree?

How about other dryland exercises and aerobic workouts (treadmill, etc.)? When I joined Masters in February, I was swimming every other day and hitting the gym on alternate days for 50 min. aerobic, followed by weights. The past two weeks I cut back on the gym and increased swimming to 5 days/wk. (I workout 7 days/wk, however, I one of those days is always lighter.)

Any advice on the dryland schedule? By the way, one thing I do EVERY day is stretch. I highly recommend the stretches written up in the Jan-Feb. 2010 issue of Swimmer Mag. I found the article in the back issues on the website and was happy I did! They have been great for improving my streamline in breaststroke and turns.

Thanks for your help!

I would stop doing biking 2 weeks out. I would lift light weights, less reps the week before and then stop the week of. You can still do your core work - planks, situps, etc. Rest is important. Sprinters rest more, older folks rest more, distance folks rest less, younger folks rest less. Women tend to lift closer to the big meet than guys do. Do track how you feel so you can tinker with things for next time if you think you need to.

Hope this helps!

--mj

[ElaineK]

I would stop doing biking 2 weeks out. I would lift light weights, less reps the week before and then stop the week of. You can still do your core work - planks, situps, etc. Rest is important. Sprinters rest more, older folks rest more, distance folks rest less, younger folks rest less. Women tend to lift closer to the big meet than guys do. Do track how you feel so you can tinker with things for next time if you think you need to.

Hope this helps!

--mj

Thanks MJ and everybody else for your advice and feedback. It sounds good to me!

[ande]

Blowing Perfect Bubble Rings from the Bottom in the Deep End
is an important taper skill
Here's How


Great Advice [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=150456&postcount=815"]Paul Smith's Top 10 Ways to Blow Your Meet [/ame]


Tip 240 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=169201&postcount=952"]Test Your Taper[/ame]


as is Tip 102 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=44512&postcount=378"]Don't Do Stupid Stuff[/ame]

Please don't become the
"Don't Do Stupid Stuff" Poster Child

Please share your Stupid Stuff stories

[That Guy]

Please share your Stupid Stuff stories

Last November I blew my taper by doing 2.5 hours of yard work the day before my taper meet. It was a good news-bad news type of thing. My wife and kids were happy that the yard was cleaned up (particularly the trampoline - the kids bounced for hours) but I had some random muscle soreness the next day and wasn't happy with my times. You'll notice that in [ame="http://forums.usms.org/showpost.php?p=209936&postcount=147"]this post[/ame] I now make sure to get yard work done well before the meet. Live and learn

[waves101]

Ok, what's the advise for double tapers? I know everyone is different and no two tapers are alike but... What are some of the general recommendations for trying to taper for Nationals 5 weeks after a state meet taper?

[ande]

Since we're at the beginning of a new season
I thought I'd bump all the lanes to see which one is winning

It's going to be a while before we are in this lane

[Thrashing Slug]

Anyone else in this lane?

I started my two-week taper for an upcoming triathlon this week. Only 3 swims this week. 2500 yards on Monday, 2000 yesterday. About 2000 planned for Friday. I'm starting to feel a little spastic. Reading the breaststroke and fly lanes is making me want to swim those strokes, but I shouldn't.

<twitch>

[Redbird Alum]

...

Please don't become the
"Don't Do Stupid Stuff" Poster Child

...

Please, oh PUULEEEEZE tell me there is a poster for this! I would love to buy one for our age group team!

[bzaks1424]

Please, oh PUULEEEEZE tell me there is a poster for this! I would love to buy one for our age group team!

You could probably pull something from this video
This Might Sting A Little(RoosterTeeth.com)

BTW -> these guys are hysterical. I recommend all of their short videos if you've had a bad day at work or something:
http://roosterteeth.com/archive/?sid=www

[Muppet]

Anyone else in this lane?

I started my two-week taper for an upcoming triathlon this week. Only 3 swims this week. 2500 yards on Monday, 2000 yesterday. About 2000 planned for Friday. I'm starting to feel a little spastic. Reading the breaststroke and fly lanes is making me want to swim those strokes, but I shouldn't.

<twitch>

Chris, I'm sorta here, as I have a tri this weekend too. But instead of tapering down, I'm kinda ramping up. Went for my first runs since June (1,1,2 mi) last week, and still haven't been on a bike since April. Though I do plan do take it easy with the biking (may as well see if I can still ride, right?) and running this week.

At least with the swimming, I don't see much point in backing too far off for a tri. The most taxing activities for me are the bike and run, so as long as kicking is mostly for stretching out and we're not doing too many sprints, I'm ok with the status quo in the pool, including breast and fly.

Plus lets face it, we're not going to chop off as significant time in our tri's with our swims as we will with good bikes and runs. I'd rather tone those down and save the legs a bit, you know?